chocolate and zucchini

Of course this sounds familiar. No, not from the hundreds of zucchini bread recipes…just from one of the original food blogs, what was it? Oh right. Chocolate & Zucchini. One that I still peer into on a regular basis, she never seems short on ideas and is currently reaching out to her audience for inspiration on the title of her new book coming out in spring 2013. Go Clotide.

As for Chez Chloe…Hidden in my last post of Tuna and Avocado was a not so small tidbit that stated we are again on Orcas Island. I’ll say it a little more clearly now, WE (meaning Chloe and I) ARE indeed on ORCAS ISLAND. All is right in the world and until further notice, you will see recipes and life as we do the Atlantic Ocean tango. Let’s just say we will be racking up the mileage points and thank you Niklaz Zennstrom from Sweden and Janus Friis from Denmark for inventing Skype! So it’s not nearly the same, but O and I can spend a couple hours together on Sunday morning (PST) reading and having tea and toast. Well actually, we do this most everyday minus the tea and toast.

Update: check.

Back to chocolate and zucchini..If you’ve made zucchini bread in the past and liked it… you will LOVE this and it may replace your current oil stained recipe. Inspired by Sweet Pea’s Kitchen, this recipe incorporates an enormous quantity of zucchini. Never satisfied with just one recipe, I cross-reference till I’m a lighter shade of blueberry. It was one thing when cookbooks spread across my dining room table accommodated this compulsion. The world wide web and thousand’s of food blogs have taken it to another level and it usually takes longer to hunt down, merge and mash recipes than to actually complete the project. I will say though Christina did a bang up job of sourcing and adapting her chocolate and zucchini bread from Simply Recipes. This one is a keeper. Thanks Christina.

It’s a fairly straight forward recipe that can be done in an afternoon. If you, like me are sometimes too lazy to drag out the cuisinart, or you just enjoy a little manual labor and find it easier, pull out the grater and grate up 4 cups of zucchini on the small holes. Again, like me, if you go scavenging the internet for zucchini bread, you’ll find the average is more like 2 and 1/2 cups for 2 loaves. Please surf. It’s empowering. These four cups will impart the fact there is zucchini happening in your sweet bread. But trust me, it works. The kids love it too.

Grate it…

Then drain it while you put the rest of the ingredients together…

Dry ingredients except for sugars are whisked in one bowl and eggs, sugars, melted butter, vanilla, grated zucchini in another. Combine, fold in the chips and bake at 350°F. Full directions are below…

As mini muffins, they are perfect for school lunches and after school on the playing field. Or basically snacking on throughout the day and night. As usual for sweet breads, the next day it was even sweeter and moist (yes, i said it). Next time… like this weekend… I’m going to throw in some chopped CANDIED GINGER…(in caps for those of you skimming through:-) )

Preheat over to 350°F. Grease and flour bread pans or muffin tins. Grate the zucchini and place in a sieve to drain excess liquid. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and grated nutmeg. In a separate large bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs until smooth, about a minute. You can do this with an electric mixer on medium speed, or by hand with a wooden spoon. Add the melted butter and vanilla extract, beat until smooth. Fold in the shredded zucchini into the sugar egg mixture. Add the flour to the zucchini mixture in 3 additions, stirring to combine after each addition. Add the chips.

Divide batter into desired receptacles. Bake at 350°F.

For loaves -45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

For mini muffins – 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then run a blunt knife around the edges to separate the bread from the pan. Remove from the loaf pans/muffin tins. Let cool completely on a rack.

Source: Adapted from Sweet Pea’s Kitchen & Simply Recipes

The mini muffins went to school the same afternoon and were seriously gobbled up by kids and adults alike after two hours of sports practice. The other whole loaf… well lets just say Chloe and I did alright, but we desperately miss our third mouth to feed.

No yeast … wonderful – I really like this and when things are back where they belong – I will take this on. Healthy and with calories – just love it – your photos takes my breath away every time – it’s like I can touch those muffins/bread …. Thanks for given Sweden rightly so the credit for SKYPE – I totally use SKYPE for my home phone and netbook. Have I rent a SKYPE number and I have unlimited landline’s calls in Europe and it cost me €30 for 3 months – and I don’t even have to have my computer on. If it rings at home I can answer on my netbook if online.

Wendy, it’s so cheap and you have to pay a fee for making a call – as you do with phone companies – even if the calls are free when they go over internet. Only thing is that you have to invest in a VIOP phone – that look like a normal handheld phone that. All information about the phones on SKYPE. Never had a problem except if internet is down, but then I have my mobile and you can’t call 112 on it. Had it for 3 years now. And anyone, that don’t have SKYPE, just phone you as normal on the phone number you have chosen.

Mmmm I haven’t made chocolate zucchini cake in ages and you’ve just reminded me how good, moist and delicious it is. I love the individual muffins – so much easier than one large bundt. And I am so jealous that you are off on your utopian island….

The muffins were fun and will be happening again soon. The weather here has also been exceptional which has been a treat. But besides missing my hubby, I’ll look forward to having a little time in Hamburg next month too. Blankenese sitting right on the Elbe, is a beautiful area.

Looks delicious! Is it anything like carrot cake? I’ve never had zucchini cake before although from pictures, it doesn’t seem like it’s obviously not your average cake. Might just have to try it for myself…

Wendy @wendytplace

I cook, garden, write and work on an island in the Pacific Northwest. This home base for twenty years keeps drawing me back to it's green summers and stormy winters.
I LOVE food. Growing it. Cooking it. Eating it. Sharing it. Above all, I try to keep love, personal reflection and humor a priority!

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About Wendy @ Wendy’s Place

I cook, garden, write and work on an island in the Pacific Northwest. This home base for twenty years keeps drawing me back to it's green summers and stormy winters.
I LOVE food. Growing it. Cooking it. Eating it. Sharing it. Above all, I try to keep love, personal reflection and humor a priority!